How-to: Mazdaspeed 3 Mazdaspeed 6 Pivot Shaft Seal, Bearing, Breather Replacement

Salvaged from the old forum user DynoBunny's post using WebArchive. This helped me, it will help you!
Note: A lot of these steps could be skipped depending on what you’re replacing and how you like to work. I’m not in a rush when I work on my car so I was thorough and clean.

Here’s the parts:

1/2023 update! You can also buy the whole unit!
A601-17-470 Case assembly (with boot)
A601-17-530 Air breather
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Here’s the tools I used in case you want to have them ready:
(You don’t need them all but I like to make things easy)
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I jacked the car up, I’m tall:
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Remove whatever intake you have:
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Pop off the shift linkage. I used two small flat heads on either side.
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Take out the two 12mm bolts holding the shift mechanism on:
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The shorter bolt goes in the back:
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I think this is the clip some people were referencing that could slide off into the trans. Since you take this part off before you take the pivot shaft out, just make sure it’s accounted for:
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Next take out the other three 12mm bolts that hold the shaft in:
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This 14mm bolt is has the guide pin for the shaft so it needs to come out to pull the assembly out:
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This is self explanatory. I used a chisel, just stick it in the top and pull to the side. Works every time for me, and I feel safer than beating and prying on it:
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The inside, keep in mind you’ll need to fit the pivot shaft into that bearing in the bottom. It’s easy to get back in if you realize what you’re doing:
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Don’t get anything in there, you’ll need to clean that surface sometime before the final assembly. I use a razor and drag it away from the blade. Also put a rag in there to catch any accidental drops:
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Pull the assembly up and out, you’ll need to tip it forward a bit to get past the intake mount. Lay it down on something clean:
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See how the guide pin works:
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This pin has to come out. There’s two sides; one’s beveled, the other isn’t. This is the side it will go back in:
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This is the side you’ll tap it out from. I used a 5/32 punch:
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Whenever I take things apart I mark them with a paint marker, good habit. Although this only goes one way, so you don't need to, but it’s still handy:
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Slide the piece off the shaft and then remove the boot from the plate:
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This is the piece that has all the parts you’ll replace. Here is the seal:
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The bearing:
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The seal came out really easy, I used my finger. If you need to get a screwdriver, just don’t maul the wall inside:
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I put it on two 2x4s and used a 19mm deep socket with a hammer to tap the bearing out. Also used a pair of vice grips to hold the socket, I don’t have the best aim with a hammer and it’s easier to hold. Always use safety glasses when hammering:
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Make sure everything is very clean when you put the new bearing in. I applied some synthetic grease (mobil1) to the bearing to help it slide in. If you have a bearing press, great use it. If not a clean cloth, wooden board, and hammer will work just as good. Just take it slow, tap it in a little and make sure it’s straight. Once it’s in as far as you can get it with the wooden board, use the 19mm to go the rest of the way:
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Turn it over and make sure you’re in all the way to the lip. Don’t beat it in too hard or you’ll damage it:
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The seal goes in this way. I didn’t need to hit it in, just pushed it in evenly with my fingers. Again don’t push it in too far, just past the edge:
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I used that same 5/32 punch turned around to get the breather out:
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A 13mm deep will go over the vent but catch the lip to hammer it back in:
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Slide the cover back onto the shaft and attach the boot:
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If this piece came apart, it’s no big deal, it just slides over it:
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You can see how this only goes two ways, but if you do it the wrong way the pin hole won’t line up:
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When you put the pin back, hammer it in from the beveled side. Also the pin should have a slight taper. Put the smaller end in first. It should be just flush with the back side:
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I used Permatex gasket maker. It’s made to resist gear oil, specifically the additives for LSDs. Whether this is bullshit, idk. Be aware that this stuff takes 24hr to cure, you may want to opt for a different kind if you can’t be down that long:
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Make a small bead around. I go around the bolt holes as well. Keep the stuff to the outside edge since it’ll squish in:
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Here’s the big deal, put this mother fucker back in. This is how it should look when you’re ready. Make sure there’s NOTHING down in the hole. Be careful, don’t hit the sealant on anything. Remember you’ll need to have a slight angle to get it past that intake mount. There’s also that hole that you’ll need to line the shaft up in; it’s directly centered. If it gets to the bottom and won’t go the last inch, turn the shift mechanism a little back and forth and it will go. Be patient, be cool, you’ll get it in:
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Once it’s in put those three 12mm bolts back, but don’t tighten them down yet:
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Put the 14mm bolt in:
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Put the other piece of the shift mechanism in. See how it goes:
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Put the other two 12mm bolts in and tighten the four main ones in a criss cross pattern. I don’t have the torque specs but I did them around 15-20 ft/lbs:
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That’s it!

 

If you are crunched for time you can order the plate with bearing and seal already installed. It also comes with a new boot in case you have a damaged one. You’ll still have to order breather and hammer it in. I had to order thru Tasca parts as my usual online Mazda places didn’t have it.

Followed the install guide above when I replaced mine. Great guide if you follow to a T.

A601-17-470 Case Assembly-Control $58.19
A601-17-530 Breather Air $5.98

 

Great write up. Mine's been sweating for a bit, then it decided to start forming puddles. I finally was able to get around to doing it. Took about an hour and went perfectly fine.

 

Made an account just to thank the OP and Raider for reposting this, following the guide was a blast and explained nearly everything in great detail. One small area I struggled with was aligning the smaller shifter linkage to the notch on the pivot just above the boot when putting everything back together (had to realign it twice before I noticed the notch lol). All told though, this is a GREAT tutorial if you're looking to do this job with basically zero background experience.

 

I went to do this today on my MS6 and the engine mount is sort of in the way of one of the bolts (top right):



I might be able to get the bolt out, but I don’t know if the plate will be in the way when I try to pull the shaft out.

For those who have done this, do you think I’ll need to remove the mount?

 

In the tutorial, it shows no mount, if you block the transmission from below, you should be able to remove the mount for the service.

 

Not having an MS3 I wouldn’t know whether there is a mount there Removing that side mount is a bit of a pain so I wondered if the shaft could just come out without removing it.

 

Yeah on my 6 I put a jack with a block of wood under there to support it and took the whole mount off.

 

Thats not an engine mount pretty that's the shifter cable bracket just remove it. If that does not go to the far chassis it is not an engine mount. Atleast that's how it looks from your pic. If it actually is one then just support it from the bottom with a jack this isn't Rocket science.

 

It's the bracket between the transmission and the engine mount. I just referred it as the mount for simplicity.

I know how to take off the engine mount and/or bracket, I was just asking if it needs to be taken off. More specifically, if the pivot shaft has to come out straight or if can angle and move out of the way of the mount. And I was asking that so that I know how much time I need to set aside for the job.

 

Personally, I would take the extra time to remove the mount, not necessarily for removal of the pivot but for reinstalling the pivot because getting the cover back on with wet liquid gasket on it is already kind of tricky without trying to maneuver around an obstacle like that mount. Just my two cents though

 

I applied RTV to the transmission instead of the pivot shaft assembly. Seemed easier to do.

 

Huh, I didn't even consider putting it on the other way, hopefully I won't have to do this job again for a while but if I do that might be the way to go.

 

Can anyone link the part numbers for these parts? The sale number is still good, but the bearing and breather are not working for me, and the diagram on my RepairLink dealer link is not yielding any results for the bearing and breather either. I found the three-part kit on either Amazon or eBay last week, but I can't find them now.

 

I was able to get the whole assembly from Mazda for fairly cheap. All I had to do was unbolt it and swap it out.

 

Do you have the part number for whole assembly?
Also anyone adding gear oil after this, or while doing this? or is loss so little it doesn't matter?

 

Have a part #? This would be nice to be able to just drop in

 

I can link it tomorrow. I believe it was over $300.

 

You can buy the whole assembly for $105 on Amazon, just look for
Mazdaspeed 3 & Mazdaspeed 6 New OEM shifter case assembly breather kit
But you can also get it on ebay from the same source for under $90. Look for the exact same title. That's where I bought mine. There is currently one left.

Includes:
A601-17-470 Case assembly (with boot)
A601-17-530 Air breather

 

So, I decided to make a YouTube video of my process for doing this, for people who like watching videos. The process described above is great, but a little extra commentary never hurts.

Mazdaspeed 3 Pivot Shaft Assembly Rebuild (with New OEM Shifter Case Assembly)